Month: August 2010

It’s this feeling i get when i walk inside, so tranquil – a place where change happens. Which I connect to deeply because of my dedication to change in my own life.

Where I work – we raise money for this home. Its called Percy Bartley House and its a home for boys that operates out of an old house in Woodtsock. They accommodate 20 boys between the ages of 15yrs and 18yrs of age many of whom have found themselves on the street or involved in petty crime or drugs in order to survive. The boys are referred to the home by the children’s court. While at PBH, they are enrolled in school or skills training programmes and are taught life skills before being reunited with their families.

Percy Bartley House is not just a home for the boys, it has become a second chance in life, where change happens.

The house is run by Farlane and Webster – they are from Zambia, and I cant say I have met two more amazing people in my life. The fact that there are people in this world that dedicate their lives to doing good like this, really engulfs my heart with happiness and gratitude.

Are all of you aware that street kids – the ones that ask us for money at the robots and on Long Street – are making up to R1000 a day? 98% of the time that money goes towards drugs. They don’t want to go to shelters because, as the public, we are enabling the problem.

They tie into our guilt and we give them R5 bucks.

Don’t do it. I’m telling you now.

Farlane’s main objective with a home like PBH is to change their attitudes – so that they don’t want to go back onto the streets. They start to want to live a new life – make an honest living, go to school, be normal, and gain some kind of self-respect and integrity.

There are two issues here

1. we are giving irresponsibly

2. homes like Percy Bartley House need funding.

I am blessed enough to work at a company that is willing help. I am blessed enough to have an MD who believes in this cause and is letting me run with it. Apparently we liberate people here – I feel liberated – thank you.

Over the years the home has become run down and has lost its sense of life and colour. We/I/Ogilvy have decided to collaborate with Write on Africa – a not for profit initiative also based in Woodstock, that mobilizes creativity in Africa for inspiration, social change and urban rejuvenation. Together with Ricky-Lee Gordon (who runs the project) we will be restoring life and colour into the home with wall murals done by well-known local artists, illustrators and creative activists.

So, if you want to help out in any way – get involved, give money, paint, get messy, get creative, change lives, change your own life, contact me.

And come see this movie: its R 50 and all proceeds go towards the renovation.

It’s almost impossible to explain or encourage someone to let go. Or tell a story about how you let go and what it did for you and your life/sanity/happiness.

I have a story about letting go.

I had a crappy ‘trying to control everything’ week, about two weeks ago.Yes, beginning of August.

I was dying. Well, ok, it felt like I was dying. So much pain. And so irritatingly unnecessary. But also necessary to the letting go part. Its the whole ‘from pain comes growth’ etc etc . blah blah.

When I try to extert too much control over people or circumstances in my life – its like im poking my finger in the machine that is my entire life. And literally fucking up the whole process while I’m at it. If I was to actually poke my finger into a machine – firstly it would chop my finger off – which explains the pain – and secondly it would slow everything down and mess with the general functionality of the machine.

OH THE METAPHORS. i. am. so. clever.

We need to put in effort. Put in action everyday towards our dreams/goals/plans, but when we try to exert too much power, it fucks out. and it hurts.

So I went through this. I kind of knew what I was doing. But eventually, I surrendered. and suddenly everything fell into place. All the outcomes I was trying to desperately to make happen, obsessivley and relentlessly, unfolded… only when I let go.

And I felt free.

Relieved.

Content.

In the present.

Peaceful.

Accepting.

All those serene emotions we all wish we felt all the time – I was overcome with them.

After all these beautiful amazing events unfolded I was like… what happened? Oh, shit, I let go.

It’s always, after the fact.

And we can never force it.

It just happens.

and the trick is to be aware of the control and accept and how pointless it is.

Then, comes surrender.

And finally, serenity.

I hold onto that now, today. I hold it gently and appreciate the gift of awareness.